If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

However, I must say it is heartening, after all these years, to see some loyal MOTU fans not only giving N/A a chance, but even feeling that it was a pretty good show. I worked very hard on the series, brought my best efforts to bear, and I'm pleased I don't have too many folks out there who still want to string me up by my thumbs.

It's a strange thing, is loyalty... especially for kids.
I recall very vividly the first time I saw NA. If I remember correctly (Dagar could probably confirm or debunk this), the first episode was shown in the UK around Christmas time... maybe not particularly close to Christmas, but definitely during the school holidays. I remember being very excited, jumping around our living room like a crazed thing, because He-Man was back. My excitement soon turned to anger, and I don't think I watched much more after the first few episodes, telling everyone that would listen "That's not He-Man!"
I was very young. *shrugs*

In the mid-90s though, I had another look... I believe it was Dagar himself who traded me a lot of tapes, and I saw the show in an entirely different light. Since then, I would definitely count myself as a big fan of the show. In truth, I'd probably prefer watching 60-odd episodes of NA than the more recent MOTU cartoon.

I think the NA cartoon was a victim of circumstance... the problems that sunk it were nothing to do with the quality of the show, in my opinion (apart from a bit of shoddy animation now and then). It came too soon after the Filmation cartoon, whose characters and conventions were still too fresh in our minds to accept this new vision of He-Man. I think it would've been a different story altogether if NA had surfaced in 1995 or 1996... it might have achieved the same kind of success as the Transformers relaunching as Beast Wars, which had a similar shift in formula from the original Transformers.

Meh. I write too much... to cut a long story short, I liked the New Adventures. So thank you. =)

Whooooa. Slow down there. There's a lot of excellent writing going on in Fan Fiction. Take a look at Riika, for one, by a very talented writer named Katrina. And there are other interesting entries there. For that matter, even if some of the writing there isn't up with top professional writing, I appreciate the vein in which it is offered -- writings by fans in homage to series they are loyal to. There's a big difference between trying to write an original series and having it be derivative, and writing something that deals with a series you love because you love that series and wish to express that love. In that sense, I take that kind writing as love letters to those series, and anyone associated with those series should be grateful to them. They are a way of keeping the essence of those series alive, the level of expertise notwithstanding.

Hi there. As I said in another thread, I recently picked up the NA volume one set to give the series another chance and I'm freakin' LOVING it!

A couple things I was wondering. The NA minicomics that came with the first wave of figures are really different from the cartoon. Were the two storylines developed independently of one another, or was that an instance of, as you've mentioned, Mattell letting you discard ideas you didn't like?

Another thing. I just got done watching through the second disc and I was just wondering, during the course of producing them did nobody notice the fact that every episode on that disc dealt with Skeletor and the Mutants saying they wanted peace but were lying? Not to be negative, but it's just that it really took me out of the show when Skeletor said he wanted peace for the fourth episode in a row and the good guys always went along with it. Was that something that just slipped under your radar or was that somehow intentional?

Anyway, thanks for doing this, this is awesome. And I can't wait for volume 2!

Continuing the story from where the new cartoon left off.
Click here to check out The Continuing Adventures of He-Man!

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
-Harvey Dent

And I KNOW that your NA isn't Fan Fict either....not sure where that idea came from........

And I like what bits of NA I have seen so far!

Anyway, I'm honoured that you are so intrested in my work and hope to see all of your work on NA soon, as well as your other endevours!

I can't wait to read your horror book! Looking for it now........

Thank you, Kittrina. As you know, I'm a fan of your writing -- your Riika saga in particular. Anyone who isn't familiar with Kittrina's epic tale of Riika ought to take a look at it in the Fan-Fic Forum. I promise it will be worth your time.

I have to say I hated NA when it came out but I got into a few years ago after watching every episode and realizing that it is still MOTU, but another chapter so to speak.

BUT.....heres my question and we talked about this many times here. In an episode Flogg changes his appearence and he appears to change into Man-At-Arms. Was this done on purpose.

http://http://80sMasters.com/
It's your place for Freedom of Speach for everything MOTU, POP, TMNT, , Horror, Wrestling, DC and Batman, and all other properties that are cool.
Is is now up and live please check it out and spread the word please!!!

I have to say I hated NA when it came out but I got into a few years ago after watching every episode and realizing that it is still MOTU, but another chapter so to speak.

BUT.....heres my question and we talked about this many times here. In an episode Flogg changes his appearence and he appears to change into Man-At-Arms. Was this done on purpose.

Thanks for giving N/A another shot. As I've said, I completely understand how a lot of loyal MOTU fans originally felt dissed. (Take a look at my posts in The New Adventures of He-man 1990 Annual thread, posts 27 and on, to see where I wanted to go in Season 2. As I've also said before, I think if Mattel would have let MOTU fans know He-man was eventually going to return to Eternia -- and I still would have needed to convince them of this -- we might have had a lot of fans who would have given the series more of a chance.)

As for your observation about Flogg/Man-at-Arms, I had no involvement in art or animation beyond reviewing the storyboards. And at storyboard level I didn't see this, so I can't make a definitive comment. Sorry I can give you a better answer.

Thanks for giving N/A another shot. As I've said, I completely understand how a lot of loyal MOTU fans originally felt dissed. (Take a look at my posts in The New Adventures of He-man 1990 Annual thread, posts 27 and on, to see where I wanted to go in Season 2. As I've also said before, I think if Mattel would have let MOTU fans know He-man was eventually going to return to Eternia -- and I still would have needed to convince them of this -- we might have had a lot of fans who would have given the series more of a chance.)

As for your observation about Flogg/Man-at-Arms, I had no involvement in art or animation beyond reviewing the storyboards. And at storyboard level I didn't see this, so I can't make a definitive comment. Sorry I can give you a better answer.

Thanks Jack for answering my question.

Yea it was hard to see He-man with a new sword and no Battle Cat at the time. But when I got every episode and watch it form the begining to the end. It wasn't that bad of a series. I mean I looked at it like It was Heman and Skeley but in another story. Totaly differnet from MOTU. And thats when I started to like it, when I discovered it wasn't MOTU in space. But an entierly different storyline all together. And it was dam good.
And it was a cartoon that actually had an ending, or a conclusion.

http://http://80sMasters.com/
It's your place for Freedom of Speach for everything MOTU, POP, TMNT, , Horror, Wrestling, DC and Batman, and all other properties that are cool.
Is is now up and live please check it out and spread the word please!!!

He summons ALL of the power in order for it to reach him in the far far future, but it DOES appear to me, as if even tho this enables him to utilize the power to do more things, it is not without it's limits? Weakened by the journey trough time it is? Since he does appear to be somewhat less powered with brute strength.

Adam of Grayskull is in effect a title like Robin of Locksley. The transformation cry changes to reflect the fact that he is so far removed from Castle Grayskull, the source of He-Man's power, that he must call upon the magical power of his entire planet, making him more powerful than ever before.

Interesting I like that idea actually

Originally Posted by Heeeere's Olesker!

Precisely...and I mean precisely.

BUT that makes me question your response in regards to NA He-Man being LESS powerful than MOTU He-Man.

Originally Posted by Heeeere's Olesker!

As for why He-man's powers are diminished to a degree on Primus, the rational was never directly addressed. I felt it was an unspoken subtext that the very savvy He-man viewers would get that because he has traveled through time and space and is in a different galaxy, his powers are different. They could just have easily been increased, but I chose to have them decreased. I didn't think it was something I had to bang viewers over the head with. Sometimes when I'm writing, I like the viewers to fill in the blanks and sometimes I like them to even speculate, without a definitive answer, about exactly what those spaces between the blanks might be. I think that makes for interesting debate and involvement in the series from the fans' perspectives, and some of the posts I've seen in this forum, after all these years, seem to bear this out.

I'm not a big fan of the line (by the power of eternia)but it might be more so the delivery rather than the line itself. now something I REALLY like about the series so far is that there is a sense of a grand story even early into it, i've said before the show doesn't FEEL much like He-man to me and I can't put my finger on exactly why (for the record MYP's he-man didn't feel very he-manny to me either) so my question is this though you did a great job putting together this series and giving a nice continuing storyline do YOU personally feel that you gave He-Man a strong He-Man identity? (again to be fair i'm still on disc one and things may change throughout the series)

It's strange he does seem very heroic and he has charisma (which MYP he-man lacked most times) but something for my tastes is missing. I'm just not quite sure what. I've always felt that He-man was a hard character to write for, hard but not impossible.

BUT that makes me question your response in regards to NA He-Man being LESS powerful than MOTU He-Man.

I'm not a big fan of the line (by the power of eternia)but it might be more so the delivery rather than the line itself. now something I REALLY like about the series so far is that there is a sense of a grand story even early into it, i've said before the show doesn't FEEL much like He-man to me and I can't put my finger on exactly why (for the record MYP's he-man didn't feel very he-manny to me either) so my question is this though you did a great job putting together this series and giving a nice continuing storyline do YOU personally feel that you gave He-Man a strong He-Man identity? (again to be fair i'm still on disc one and things may change throughout the series)

It's strange he does seem very heroic and he has charisma (which MYP he-man lacked most times) but something for my tastes is missing. I'm just not quite sure what. I've always felt that He-man was a hard character to write for, hard but not impossible.

btw that colts/pats game WAS amazing!

Let me clarify: when I made the previous comment about N/A's He-man being less powerful than MOTU's I was referring to his 'strength' rather than 'power'. I meant I was never a big fan of him being able to pick up Castle Grayskull. I should have been more specific about what I was speaking about.

I do understand and appreciate your point about him not feeling like MOTU's He-man to you -- and I agree with you about this. The simple fact is, he's changed over time. I certainly don't feel like the person I was when I was attending Bradley University and you probably don't feel like the person you were ten or twenty years ago. People change, and change is one of the primary elements in dramatic thrust. If a character always remains the same, then they aren't very interesting. One of my favorite episodes is when He-man and Skeletor have to temporarily put aside their differences to work against a common foe. This gives the insight that it's just possible that Skeletor still has a flicker of good deep within him, and may be redeemable, I feel that's compelling. So I like it when characters change.

I don't, however, expect everyone to like the changes. Sit-coms are based on the concept that at the end of any episode within a season things will be pretty much as they were at the beginning, and that's why I don't write for sit-coms -- not a putdown, since one of my dear friends in the industry was a producer for CHEERS; just a personal preference.

So if you feel He-man changed, then I achieved what I set out to do and this pleases me. If you don't like the change then I'm saddened. If you ultimately like it, then I'm elated. Either way, I took the chance and count myself fortunate to be given the opportunity to take that chance. As I said, I have a high regard for the franchise, and whatever I did -- whether it worked or not -- was done out of respect for that franchise and for the writers who preceded me.

Let me clarify: when I made the previous comment about N/A's He-man being less powerful than MOTU's I was referring to his 'strength' rather than 'power'. I meant I was never a big fan of him being able to pick up Castle Grayskull. I should have been more specific about what I was speaking about.

I do understand and appreciate your point about him not feeling like MOTU's He-man to you -- and I agree with you about this. The simple fact is, he's changed over time. I certainly don't feel like the person I was when I was attending Bradley University and you probably don't feel like the person you were ten or twenty years ago. People change, and change is one of the primary elements in dramatic thrust. If a character always remains the same, then they aren't very interesting. One of my favorite episodes is when He-man and Skeletor have to temporarily put aside their differences to work against a common foe. This gives the insight that it's just possible that Skeletor still has a flicker of good deep within him, and may be redeemable, I feel that's compelling. So I like it when characters change.

I don't, however, expect everyone to like the changes. Sit-coms are based on the concept that at the end of any episode within a season things will be pretty much as they were at the beginning, and that's why I don't write for sit-coms -- not a putdown, since one of my dear friends in the industry was a producer for CHEERS; just a personal preference.

So if you feel He-man changed, then I achieved what I set out to do and this pleases me. If you don't like the change then I'm saddened. If you ultimately like it, then I'm elated. Either way, I took the chance and count myself fortunate to be given the opportunity to take that chance. As I said, I have a high regard for the franchise, and whatever I did -- whether it worked or not -- was done out of respect for that franchise and for the writers who preceded me.

This is what keeps fictional characters real - the element of change and something that every living soul experiences.

Let me clarify: when I made the previous comment about N/A's He-man being less powerful than MOTU's I was referring to his 'strength' rather than 'power'. I meant I was never a big fan of him being able to pick up Castle Grayskull. I should have been more specific about what I was speaking about.

Understood and appreciated. for me I'm torn about how powerful (strength) I like to see he-man sometimes I would love to see him (with a huge exertion) move a mountain similarly though I like to see him have a challenge when he fights the feature characters so it's a bit of an imbalance in my mind. I don't like him moving the moon though that's overkill for me

I do understand and appreciate your point about him not feeling like MOTU's He-man to you -- and I agree with you about this. The simple fact is, he's changed over time. I certainly don't feel like the person I was when I was attending Bradley University and you probably don't feel like the person you were ten or twenty years ago. People change, and change is one of the primary elements in dramatic thrust. If a character always remains the same, then they aren't very interesting. One of my favorite episodes is when He-man and Skeletor have to temporarily put aside their differences to work against a common foe. This gives the insight that it's just possible that Skeletor still has a flicker of good deep within him, and may be redeemable, I feel that's compelling. So I like it when characters change.

I don't, however, expect everyone to like the changes. Sit-coms are based on the concept that at the end of any episode within a season things will be pretty much as they were at the beginning, and that's why I don't write for sit-coms -- not a putdown, since one of my dear friends in the industry was a producer for CHEERS; just a personal preference.

So if you feel He-man changed, then I achieved what I set out to do and this pleases me. If you don't like the change then I'm saddened. If you ultimately like it, then I'm elated. Either way, I took the chance and count myself fortunate to be given the opportunity to take that chance. As I said, I have a high regard for the franchise, and whatever I did -- whether it worked or not -- was done out of respect for that franchise and for the writers who preceded me.

I can't say I don't LIKE the character in fact I really do he's intelligent, charismatic a natural leader he just doesn't command the same presence as filmation's he-man BUT this may be a natural thing because no one knows him and he may kind of down play himself to show he isn't a threat to his allies, again i'm early in the season and it could change but to clarify it's not that I don't like the change but this early on he's a bit of a stranger to me. (I don't like the character design though never did) that being said how do YOU feel about the character's looks? Mainly He-man and Skelly.

I've read your posts about how much love and respect you have for the original property and as a huge MOTU fan you've earned my respect and admiration for coming here and taking time to interact with us first of all and secondly for sharing and understanding our love for MOTU.

I also respect that you did set out to change things, it's a brave thing for a writer to do with established characters and I do have to say overall I DO enjoy the show i'll probably never consider it a part of MOTU because really it ISN'T none of that appears in the title of the show or toyline but I think after all is said and done I can see it as another adventure for He-man himself. I think I just need a little more time to get to know this he-man. Thanks for putting your efforts into it regardless of how I feel at the end of it all I appreciate what you've set out to do both then and now.

another aside - a friend of mine saw about 9 episodes of NA when it was on this on demand service we have in Canada and he LOVED it. just so you know

Understood and appreciated. for me I'm torn about how powerful (strength) I like to see he-man sometimes I would love to see him (with a huge exertion) move a mountain similarly though I like to see him have a challenge when he fights the feature characters so it's a bit of an imbalance in my mind. I don't like him moving the moon though that's overkill for me

I can't say I don't LIKE the character in fact I really do he's intelligent, charismatic a natural leader he just doesn't command the same presence as filmation's he-man BUT this may be a natural thing because no one knows him and he may kind of down play himself to show he isn't a threat to his allies, again i'm early in the season and it could change but to clarify it's not that I don't like the change but this early on he's a bit of a stranger to me. (I don't like the character design though never did) that being said how do YOU feel about the character's looks? Mainly He-man and Skelly.

I've read your posts about how much love and respect you have for the original property and as a huge MOTU fan you've earned my respect and admiration for coming here and taking time to interact with us first of all and secondly for sharing and understanding our love for MOTU.

I also respect that you did set out to change things, it's a brave thing for a writer to do with established characters and I do have to say overall I DO enjoy the show i'll probably never consider it a part of MOTU because really it ISN'T none of that appears in the title of the show or toyline but I think after all is said and done I can see it as another adventure for He-man himself. I think I just need a little more time to get to know this he-man. Thanks for putting your efforts into it regardless of how I feel at the end of it all I appreciate what you've set out to do both then and now.

another aside - a friend of mine saw about 9 episodes of NA when it was on this on demand service we have in Canada and he LOVED it. just so you know

Thanks for your comments, praise and criticisms -- all well thought out.

I think you've come up with a key phrase to describe N/A. "Another adventure for He-man himself." For me -- and I believe for others -- that's very much on target, feels right and will also hopefully do much to assuage MOTU fans' animosity, allowing them to judge N/A a bit mnore independently from MOTU.

Admittedly, N/A is not MOTU. It wasn't intended to be. Perhaps if we had gone to Season Two and returned to Eternia it would have been. But for Season One N/A was definitely 'another adventure.' So I thank you for that.

As for the look of He-man and Skelley, first, as I've said before, I had very little input into the art process -- other than reviewing storyboards. So that was largely up to Tokyo and Mattel. For my personal take, I didn't have a problem with the new He-man because it was supposed to be new. Skeletor I wasn't crazy about, but once he made the transformation I was more pleased. I felt it was a HUGE mistake to give him eyes. That just didn't work for me and there was no raison d'etre for it to happen.

As for He-man not commanding as much of a presence as he did in MOTU, I agree with you. There were several reasons for this. First let's look at Adam. In MOTU he was a prince. In N/A he was just a regular guy, notwithstanding his relationship with Sebrian. So this is one reason why the Adam side commanded more of a presence in MOTU. If he had come in as Prince Adam, the jig would be up. As it is, it's a stretch to believe Skeletor can't put it together and, you know, maybe Skeletor has put it together and, for reasons of his own, is waiting for the right time to spring it.

As for He-man himself, well although he has lots of friends and allies in MOTU, it's pretty much a one-man show. You have a guy who can hoist up Castle 'Greyskull' (a nod to our UK fans) by himself and you just don't need a lot of help -- maybe someone to polish your sword once in a while.

But things were different for him on Primus. I believe after all this time being the strongest man in the universe, He-man wanted to gear back a little. Hey, even God rested on the seventh day. And the situation was different here. You had a basically pacifist society now being confronted by a threat. Sure, he could have rode in on a white horse and taken on Skelly's mano a mano -- although the mutants would have posed more of a problem with their tech innovations. But I believe He-man didn't want to interrupt the nature order of things too much on Primus. If he just took the complete lead, did the job and then bolted back to Eternia, he wouldn't equip the people of Primus with the tools they needed to counter future threats. It's like the old adage -- "Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime."

So I think the reason He-man was backing off a little was because he wanted the people of Primus to learn how to fish and how to fight their own battles. In this he may not have exhibited his being the strongest man in the universe as he did on Eternia. But we now get the impression that in addition to possessing strength, he possesses wisdom to go with it. A formidable combination in a hero.

Jack, did the concept for the designs of heman and skeley come from the laser light motu figures.

http://http://80sMasters.com/
It's your place for Freedom of Speach for everything MOTU, POP, TMNT, , Horror, Wrestling, DC and Batman, and all other properties that are cool.
Is is now up and live please check it out and spread the word please!!!

He summons ALL of the power in order for it to reach him in the far far future, but it DOES appear to me, as if even tho this enables him to utilize the power to do more things, it is not without it's limits? Weakened by the journey trough time it is? Since he does appear to be somewhat less powered with brute strength.

Thanks for taking your time for us fans.

I think I addressed this in another post, but I'll discuss it again here.

He has gone to a different galaxy and a different time. Thus, it makes sense that his strength will be changed. It's not so much the journey as where it is to. We know that even within our own solar system, a 'simple' trip to say our moon or Neptune would result in our having 'power' different than that which we had on Earth. Gravity, in this case, would have its effect. There may be other factors at play as well -- the atmosphere, the relative distance to the sun and, to be more arcane, mystical factors or factors as of yet unimagined.

This was the case for He-man in N/A. With change comes...well...change.

Pop-related question

As a die-hard POP child from my youth I have to ask these questions about NA sorry for annoying you...
I know there was an episode with Teela with He-man in the future etc.. and we've discussed all that and you've said had you had gotten a second series we would have seen Eternia again yes.
Was there ever any idea/possibility for bringing Adora/She-ra to meet He-man?

BTW why didn't we see Orko in the very first episode?

Man-At-Arms the dictator would you expand a bit on this idea-it's very interesting and intriguing!!

Jack, did the concept for the designs of heman and skeley come from the laser light motu figures.

I had no input regarding the development of the toy-line. R&D on developing a toy-line is an extremely long and serpentine process from the standpoint of the toy manufacturer. So if they bring a writer in at the beginning of the toy development, then it's a long road until he (or she) starts to actually write and there's a risk that he'll lose some of his heat and passion for the concept when the time finally comes. Also, in fairness to toy manufacturers, writers are primarily writers -- although we sometimes become producers and/or directors as well. The toy industry is an entirely different -- although related -- area, with a process and dynamic that is specific to it, apart from writing. While toy manufacturers occasionally take something a writer has created and develop a toy from it -- TMNT being a prime example -- it's rare that a toy manufacturer will come to a writer at the R&D stage and solicit their opinions and input.

Did you work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jack, or was it on the live action series? I'm sure I saw your name in the credits on one of the shows, but can't remember which.

I had the pleasure of writing on the animated version for Jack Mendolsohn, who served as Story Editor. Jack has a storied career, serving as Story Editor for Three's Company and other early animated series, a well as writing the script for Yellow Submarine. He's one of the industry's true gentlemen and prior to TMNT we worked together at DIC.

Hey Jack, did you see those redesigns of NA He-man characters that board-member Battle_Brak did? I thought they were really cool, and have decided to colour some of them, so far I've only had time to complete Skelly, but I believe that board-member Jukka and others have coloured the rest.

Want me to search em' up for you and post them for your viewing-pleasure?

As a die-hard POP child from my youth I have to ask these questions about NA sorry for annoying you...
I know there was an episode with Teela with He-man in the future etc.. and we've discussed all that and you've said had you had gotten a second series we would have seen Eternia again yes.
Was there ever any idea/possibility for bringing Adora/She-ra to meet He-man?

BTW why didn't we see Orko in the very first episode?

Man-At-Arms the dictator would you expand a bit on this idea-it's very interesting and intriguing!!

Don't ever feel you're annoying me by asking a questions that's important to you. You're a fan of a series I worked on, so what's important to you is important to me -- and that goes equally for viewers who offer (constructive) strongly felt criticism.

I loved the episode Teela was in, and I really enjoyed the insight it gave into He-man's feelings. The problem for me was that we had a LOT of characters in N/A. So any time spent away from those characters -- i.e., bringing in MOTU characters and even extraneous characters from Primus and its galaxy -- would necessarily meant time spent away from our main cast. So, much as I would have liked to, I would have had a difficult time justifying bringing in MOTU characters although, again, I loved that episode.

As an aside, She-ra makes me go weak in the knees, so I might have had a problem writing for her anyway.

The same idea of how spending time on other than main characters in N/A would take away from time spent on the main characters was the reasoning behind not having Orko in the first episode. We had an awful lot to accomplish in a short amount of time -- a time and space journey, introduction of new characters, a new world and a new battle dynamics, Skelly creating a new alliance, etc. I felt He-man had -- if even in an ellipse -- said his good-byes in private, and now it was time to move on. So that's what I chose to focus on.

Hey Jack, did you see those redesigns of NA He-man characters that board-member Battle_Brak did? I thought they were really cool, and have decided to colour some of them, so far I've only had time to complete Skelly, but I believe that board-member Jukka and others have coloured the rest.

Want me to search em' up for you and post them for your viewing-pleasure?

Yeah, it was on about Christmas 1990. Christmas Eve, perhaps? The second five-parter was then on on a Bank Holiday Monday in the spring of 1991.

Sorry not to be offering something more constructive to this thread (I've thought of several questions I would have liked to ask Jack, but other people have all seemingly beat me to the punch!) - but, I just wanted to confirm that The New Adventures of He-Man cartoon did indeed make its UK debut on ITV at Christmas time 1990, specifically on Christmas Eve where the first five-parter was edited together and broadcast as "The New Adventures of He-Man: The Movie"! I believe it was shown at 9:25am!

Dave is also spot on in that the second five-parter aired over here circa Easter time in the spring of 1991 - again, it was cut together to make a feature-length special!

Take care...

Are you fed up with the problems you've been experiencing buying from MattyCollector.com?